Paul's Family Restaurant

Reviewers describe an American menu with a Cherokee-area twist. The dishes most often mentioned are buffalo burgers and Indian tacos, built on fry bread, a staple you will see across Cherokee. If you have never had fry bread, an Indian taco is an easy way to try it, with seasoned toppings piled on a warm, puffy round. Burgers, sandwiches and breakfast plates fill out the rest of a menu aimed at mixed groups.

Opinions run mixed. Some visitors praise the food and the staff, while others report slow service at busy times and newer servers still learning the room. On a summer or fall weekend, give yourself extra time, and if you are on a schedule for a park drive, go early or off-peak. Call ahead or check the restaurant's current listing for hours before you drive over, since small Cherokee restaurants adjust their schedules by season.

Cherokee works as a base for the park's North Carolina side. From a meal here you are close to:

• Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Mountain Farm Museum, where elk graze the fields at dawn and dusk. Details are on the NPS Oconaluftee page.
• Newfound Gap Road, the mountain crossing to Gatlinburg. Check the NPS road conditions page in winter.
• Museum of the Cherokee People, in town, for the Eastern Band's history in its own voice.

A parking tag is required for any vehicle parked over 15 minutes in the park ($5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year), and America the Beautiful and other federal passes do not substitute for it.

• Family-friendly, with room for larger groups.
• Fry bread is the local specialty to try.
• Ask your server about portion sizes before ordering for kids.